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A tense silence loomed over the training grounds.

Yuuji stood in the center of the courtyard, his black shirt fluttering faintly in the mountain breeze. He smiled, exuding a calm, almost regal pressure. Not hostile, but suffocating in its weight. A gentle smile with the kind of pressure that promised regret if not taken seriously.

Rias stepped forward, her voice resolute despite the uncertainty in her chest.

"Very well. We will show you our resolve!"

The rest of her peerage nodded solemnly, and took their stances.

Rias and Akeno readied their hands to be able to cast magic at moments notice.

Kiba summoned a sword with his sacred gear, Sword Birth.

Issei summoned the Boosted Gear and went into a boxing form, while Koneko took her fighting stance.

Asia stepped back behind Issei, not in fear, but rather knowing her place and role in the group.

Yuuji noted their lack of formation, but let it pass for now and simply nodded. "Then come. Show me your resolve and your limits."

"Boost!"

The mechanical voice of the Boosted Gear echoed as crimson light surged over Issei’s arm. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, determined to be the first to act—his role was clear: draw attention, tank the blow if needed.

"Let’s gooooo!"

Yuuji didn’t move. His gaze calmly tracked Issei, waiting.

Kiba shot in from the side, attempting to flank. His sword shimmered with demonic energy as he executed a high-speed feint, faster than the eye could track.

At the same time, Akeno’s voice rang out from above—lightning dancing in her hands as she began chanting.

"Tsubakihara-kun~ Let this onee-san show you pain~ Thunder, fall and tear the skies asunder—Raikou no Kago!"

Three attacks, perfectly timed. A pincer assault with power, speed, and magic.

Yuuji observed all of it calmly.

And didn’t move.

When suddenly, he vanished.

To their eyes, it was like reality skipped a frame.

"Good commitment," Yuuji said. "Terrible stance. What good’s a feint if it’s not a threat."

BOOM!

In a blink, Issei was sent flying back, crashing through a tree.

Kiba’s blade stopped mid-swing—halted by a finger. "Too slow," Yuuji muttered before slamming a knee into Kiba’s gut and flipping him over. "Too weak."

A pillar of divine thunder descended like a guillotine.

But Yuuji stepped sideways—only once—and let the bolt miss by an inch. Before she could react, she felt a light tap on her back.

"You’re good with spells. But your spacing is awful."

Akeno let out a sharp cry as an unseen force yanked her downward, slamming her hard against the ground. The impact left her dazed, pain radiating through her body.

Above them, Yuuji hovered effortlessly in midair, his gaze cold and detached as he looked down at the fallen core members of Rias’s peerage—defeated and immobilized in mere moments.

Then his eyes met Rias’s. Fury and frustration burned within her crimson stare, but beyond that—nothing.

No strategy. No backup plan. No effort to regroup.

Only raw, unfiltered rage driving her to strike back at the one who had brought down her precious companions. .. yet without any real means to do so.

’Well, maybe this is as expected from a shonen anime emphasizing on fan service... The power of friendship triumphs all, after all.’

Asia ran to Issei, a pale healing light glowing faintly. Her hands trembled as she placed them on his chest. "Please... hold on, Issei..."

But her healing was too slow—too weak for combat damage.

Yuuji’s voice echoed across the field. "He’s not dying. Not yet. But if you don’t learn to focus under pressure, Asia, someone will die next time."

Her lip quivered—but she bit down on it and focused. Her healing sped up slightly. Only slightly—but it mattered.

"Asia, behind you!" Kiba shouted amidst the pain as he struggled to stand back up.

Yuuji was walking slowly toward her.

Issei forced himself to rise, pain flaring through his ribs. "Don’t you dare—!"

But Yuuji stopped just short of the girl, and knelt down instead.

"Relax. I won’t harm your healer." He looked at Asia, his tone suddenly gentle. "But out there, someone will. You need to be faster."

He tapped her forehead, and a surge of pressure forced her back, falling into Issei’s embrace.

Then he stood back up, and turned towards the white-haired kitten.

Koneko stood alone, fists raised. Her petite frame trembled slightly—but her eyes were sharp.

She dashed forward, weaving through the chaos. Her fists struck Yuuji’s side in a blur of white.

Clang!

It felt like hitting steel.

"You’ve got strength," Yuuji said, flicking her back with a finger. "But you’re afraid of your full power."

Koneko was thrown across the field, rolling to a stop—blood at the corner of her mouth.

Rias shouted, "Koneko!"

But the little nekomata stood again. Wiped the blood. Raised her fists.

"I’m not... afraid."

She charged once more.

This time, her blows moved faster—heavier. She wasn’t holding back. Yuuji raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"That’s better."

He petted her head softly, making the small white-haired girl widen her eyes in surprise, before a tremendous weight suddenly pushed her to the ground.

Rias stood tall now, eyes glowing with crimson resolve. She summoned a massive sphere of destruction magic overhead. This time, she poured in everything—channeling her emotion, her pride, her will.

Using this chance while he was distracted by Koneko, she’ll hit him!

"Disappear!"

She threw a massive ball of pure destruction. A concept made reality. A magic whose sole purpose was to destroy and erase everything.

But in the end, it was still magic.

[Gram Demolition]

With Elemental Sight analyzing the structure and concept behind her magic, dismantling it was as simple as waving a hand.

"It’s certainly a powerful magic," he admitted. "But you’re too slow, too wasteful, and too predictable."

As he lowered his arm, his focus seemingly directed towards Rias, Akeno, from behind him, was already charging another spell, lightning crackling around her figure.

From the ground, though her body ached and was caked with dust and dirt, she won’t give up that easily.

"Raikou!"

Akeno’s bolt struck the ground at his feet, exploding with divine and demonic energy.

Dust clouded the area.

Bruised, breathless, the group pulled themselves together.

Issei stood. "Boost!"

Kiba limped to his side, blood trailing down his arm.

Akeno flew up again, lightning wilder now.

Rias wiped blood from her lips.

Koneko forced her trembling body up.

Asia stood behind them all, her soft hands glowing, whispering prayers.

And for the first time—they formed a line.

Not scattered. Not panicking. Together.

As the smoke cleared, Yuuji stepped out. Impeccable. Unaffected.

They rushed him again.

Issei charged up a double-boosted punch—Kiba right behind him.

Rias and Akeno unleashed a combined spell, destruction and lightning entwined.

Koneko flanked from the opposite side, leaping off a nearby rock for momentum.

Yuuji’s eyes gleamed—not in malice, but in recognition.

This time, he blocked Issei’s punch with his forearm—barely moving—while Kiba unleashed his follow-up strike, grazing his sleeve. Koneko launched a kick, only for it to meet with Yuuji’s raised leg.

Rias and Akeno’s spell detonated.

BOOOOOM!

Smoke and light swallowed the training field.

Silence.

Then... footsteps.

Yuuji emerged, his hair fluttering in the wind. His expression? Genuinely pleased.

"That was good."

He nodded in satisfaction.

All of them panted in exhaustion. Though it has only been a few moments, they’ve poured all of their strength into each blow, only to be repelled and crushed, over and over.

But nothing worked. He was unaffected. As if he was swatting flies around as he walked around leisurely.

’No...! I can still do it...! I’m not done yet!’

The thought was shared by all of them. And one last time, they made their final strike.

Kiba charged with a new sword—faster than ever, blade thruming with power.

Issei charged in from the front once again, [Boost] only stacked once, but still didn’t stop him.

Koneko dashed from the left, ready to unleash her remaining energy into this one punch.

Akeno and Rias also charged their magic for one last time, filling it up with the last remaining mana they have.

’With this... I’ll show him our resolve!’

Yuuji smiled, and his eyes shined with the light of Geass.

The air cracked like glass as Yuuji’s single clap echoed across the training grounds.

Rias and Akeno’s spells fizzled out mid-cast, the intricate magic circles in their palms disintegrating like ash in the wind.

Kiba’s newly-formed blade shattered in his grip before it could meet its mark, the fragments scattering across the ground like stardust.

Issei’s Boosted Gear let out a distorted whir—then the crimson gauntlet vanished completely, leaving only his bare, trembling fist behind.

Koneko’s momentum halted mid-step. Her body refused to move, frozen by an unseen force, fists clenched with all her remaining strength.

The entire courtyard stood still—every heartbeat, every breath, every drop of sweat in the air—held in quiet reverence to a power far beyond them.

Yuuji had not moved an inch.

He had not touched them.

And yet they stood there, paralyzed—not by fear, but by sheer, unrelenting pressure. Not just magical. Existential. They were looking up at a peak they couldn’t even comprehend, much less scale.

Yuuji slowly lowered his arms.

His gaze swept across them—one by one.

Rias, panting, a trickle of blood running down her cheek, eyes wide in disbelief.

Akeno, frustration written in her clenched teeth.

Kiba, silent, eyes narrowed, calculating, trying to understand what had just happened.

Koneko, still fighting her own body to move again, to prove she wasn’t useless.

Issei... his body trembling, not just from exhaustion, but the sheer, crushing weight of inadequacy.

Yuuji finally spoke.

"You fought well."

His voice was soft.

"But you’ve now felt it. The wall. The difference in power that cannot be bridged with a short burst of effort alone."

He approached them slowly, calm and deliberate. The invisible pressure released its grip—and all five of them collapsed to their knees, gasping, catching breath, clenching fists.

Still, no one cried.

They were beyond tears now.

Yuuji stopped a few paces away.

"But that wall... is not absolute."

They looked up.

"You’ve taken the first step by realizing it exists. Now comes the climb."

He raised a finger.

"You have a few days left before the Rating Game."

His gaze locked onto Rias.

"You’ve still got a long way to go. Your strategy is a mess. Your magic, disastrous. And your stamina is non-existent. As for the others..." He looked around the exhausted bunch on the ground, "Well, there’s a lot of room for improvement. And now... it’s time for that improvement."

He turned his back.

"Rest up. 10 minutes from now, we’ll start your real training. Aika, Erika, come with me for a bit. Let’s discuss how to best train them."

"Yes~"

"Alright."

And with that, he walked off into the mansion followed by Aika and Erika—leaving behind a group of defeated, yet fiercely burning warriors.

No one spoke.

No one needed to.

They had lost—utterly—but in that loss, they felt something stir.

Resolve.

A desire to grow—not for pride. But for each other.

Rias and Akeno slowly lifted their eyes, their gaze drawn to the broad, imposing back of the man who had just imparted a lesson they would never forget.

In that quiet moment, a wave of admiration washed over them—mingled with a deeper, more complex emotion they couldn’t yet name.

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